The Diary of an Immortal
by TheLastSunset
Summary: Critique it...


I walked across the worn, wooden floors listening as each high heel struck the floor with rhythm. I could smell my new perfume filling the room's absence of smell. I stopped at a small desk in the middle of the room. The lady behind the desk did not look up, but kept her gaze on a two-day old newspaper. I stood there patiently, waiting for the lady to talk. "Name?"The lady's voice was dark. "Hayden Svidersky. I had an appointment with Dr.Ledger." "Yes, yes, ok..." the lady put aside the newspaper and picked up the phone, pressed a button, and looked up at me with with a smirk. "Dr.Ledger...Hayden Svidersky...ok." She quietly put the phone down. "You may go in."

I entered the room and looked over to the left while I shut the door. "Good morning Mrs. Svidersky." A man stood in the corner of the room with clean, cut dark brown hair His smile was friendly...inviting. He was around my age. And he was way beyond gorgeous. His eyes were light green and his skin was very pale. His teeth were extremely bright in the dim-lit room. He dressed in a black blazer and black pants with shoes that fit the wardrobe quite well. He kept that smile as he patiently waited for me to reply. That smile that could stop any girl's heart. I caught myself and replied, "Good morning." He held out a hand and as I reached for it to shake he spoke in the most trancing voice I had ever heard. "I'm Dr. Mark Ledger..." He paused and waited for a reply. When he realized I wasn't going to he continued, "I asked you to come here because Madison Hall said that you were the best person who could work for me. Of course she told me this around three months ago, but I was going through a difficult time, then. Every thing's better and I finally decided that I will move on and continue with finding employees to work." He ran thin fingers through his white-blond, straight hair. He stared at only my eyes. Not that he would have much to stare at. I've always thought of myself as average. My curly, long brown hair I inherited from my mother, my brown eyes, from my father. My clumsiness, unfortunately I created. I was slender, but not very tall. The reason I always wore high heels. I looked down at my bright red high heels and then looked him in the eyes again. He must not think much of me. I mean...he's all dressed up and I'm only wearing a black sweater and blue jeans. I stared at him recollecting my thoughts. "Yes, Madison Hall told me that you might need my assistance." Of course she wasn't as overexadurating as I thought she was about his beauty. He turned towards a large desk next to a huge fireplace The chair behind the desk was of black leather, the chair opposite, was of dark cherry wood. He sat in the leather chair staring at me. "Please, sit." and beckoned to the chair in front of his desk. I sat as elegantly as I could. As I sat I noticed the wall the fireplace was in was covered in books. Shelves and shelves of books, until it reached the top of the ceiling. I quickly looked back at him. His gaze, as I gradually noticed was not much of just friendliness, but more curious. I decided to break the silence. "You have a lot of books." "Yes, not as many as I would like, though." I mused..."Oh." Was all I finally settled on. He spoke in the same dreamy voice, "So, you can start with why you need the job, then move on to about yourself." I stared at him, then quickly remembered the reason I was here. "My name is Hayden Svidersky. I'm twenty years old. I need this job so I can pay my bills and because I enjoy typing."...pause..."Why do you think you're qualified out of all the other people who have applied?" His smile more beautiful than ever flashed at me. "I'm quick, and I am good with Grammar so it would take less time fixing errors." I stopped. I really couldn't think of any better reason as to why I even had an ounce of being better than anyone for that matter. How would I ever be able to type his book without getting distracted by his beauty? I didn't know, but I needed this job, so I would have to suck it up somehow. "Ok, well I will call you and tell you whether or not if you've gotten it." I stood up and shook his hand once more. Before touching the handle I turned on my heels and met his gaze. His face was set on a curious expression. I had to ask. "What is it you plan on writing about?" "Oh, just fiction." Something in his voice told me otherwise. That it wasn't fiction.

I turned the handle, slipped out the door, then closed it gently. I rolled my eyes as I walked down the hallway to the main room. What makes me think that he would ever pick me. He probably thinks I'm an idiot after the way I acted in there. As I walked through the main room I saw a pretty blond girl with red lipstick, high heels, and a very gorgeous dark, red dress on standing at the small desk I had just visited. As I passed my ear heard "...Laura Walters...mhm...ok, you can go on in." click From that moment I just knew I had wasted my time. What makes me think he'll pick me to write his book when he can have a gorgeous blond write it. I once again looked down at my red shoes as I crossed the dark street.

It had been half an hour and my feet were killing me. I would call for a cab, but I don't have a cell phone and there wasn't a pay phone in sight. The empty street made me feel uncomfortable. I stared straight at the ground as I quickly paced across the sidewalk. I heard voices and footsteps ahead and I quickly swung my head up. Far down the sidewalk, coming my way were people. I still had an hour to walk, so maybe I could see if they have a cell phone I can borrow. The closer I got the more frightened I became. There were four men in the distance. Each looked as if they were going to a bar. They all looked scruffy and were built. After the main guy would crack a joke all four of them would bust out with laughter. After about three seconds of reasoning I decided not to ask for a cell phone. I kept my head down as I walked. I neared them. I discretely closed my eyes hoping they weren't going talking to me. I scanned the streets. There wasn't anyone else for miles...that thought scared me. Then I passed them. I turned around the next corner I saw out of breath I stood there with my back against the wall trying to catch my breath. Come one...I can do this...I need to get home soon. All of a sudden I felt someone grab my arm and I screamed. A hand shot up to my mouth muffling my scream. It was Dr. Mark Ledger. I suddenly felt safe. I didn't know why but I felt like everything was going to be better. "Come with me." His voice sounded more dangerous. Not the same voice I had heard earlier. Sure, it was still luring and velvity, but it was different. I quickly followed him as he angrily whispered to himself. It seemed as if he felt the more I was with him the more he was revealing something. "Where are we going." My voice sounded small. I tried again. "Are you ok?" He stopped and turned to smile kindly at me "Yes, I'm sorry. Did I frighten you?" I stared. "No, no I'm fine." We turned around another corner to see a black corvette parked perfectly inside the lines. He opened the passenger side door and motioned for me to get in. "I'm not far from my house. I can just walk the rest of the way." I looked back. No one was insight. I really did want to get in. I had quite a bit to walk. "Don't be ridiculous. You don't want anyone stealing you, do you?" There was an edge to his voice near the end of that sentence. "Ok." I sat in the car. I watched him glide across to the opposite side and slide in. As he did so I noticed his smell. He smelled marvelous...heavenly. I breathed through my nose deeply, but discretely. Somehow, he noticed my almost dead silent breath. He looked at me. "So, where do you live?" "Lynn St. in Calven appartments." I replied. He started the engine. I looked around the car and noticed all of the cds he had stacked neatly in his side pocket of the car. Then I looked at what was playing. "You like Kronos Quartet?" I asked suprised. "Yes. This is my favourite song." He turned up the volume. It was my favourite too. I didn't bother saying anything. He couldn't be compared to someone as original as me.

Most of the ride was quiet. Every now and then he would ask me random questions about me. Such as ;'What's your favourite color?' And 'Do you sing?'. In the silence my thoughts would scramble. I never thought that after I left his office that I would ever see him again. Suddenly after ten minutes I heard a cop car go off and before I could turn my head to look back at who they were pulling over, Dr. Ledger was pulling over to the side of the road. "What do you think he wants?" I waited in the silence. He was concentrating on something. "Dr. Ledger?" He turned and smiled at me. "Please, call me Mark." I smiled. "And did you not notice? I was going twenty miles over the speed limit." There was a knock at Mark's window and Mark rolled it down. "Is there a problem officer?" As if he were oblivious to the fact that he was speeding. I noticed not once did Mark break eye contact with the man. After a brief pause the officer spoke. "No. I'm sorry for wasting your time." The officer turned and walked back to his vehicle. Before another thought drifted into my head, Mark was back on the road going, yet again, eighty. I really hadn't noticed that he was speeding. I really didn't care, just as long as I could be with him. As I was being tranced by his beauty the car came to an abrupt, but smooth stop. I looked up to see where we were and noticed it was where I lived. "Have a good night." He dazzled me with his heart throbbing smile. "T-Thank you for taking me home." I smiled, knowing it didn't have anywhere near the effect that his smile gave me. I opened the door and stepped out. My shoe got caught in between two rocks and as I tried to get it out I almost slipped on the ground, but Mark's hand was there in a flash holding my arm in a grasp to keep me from falling. I stared at him for a second as I took off my shoe. I picked up my shoe in awe by how strong his hold on my arm was. It didn't hurt. But it kept me up. "Ummm..." I paused. "Thanks again." I smiled nervously. "Be careful and sweet dreams." His voice was as gorgeous as his face was.

I stepped into my small apartment and quickly went to the window. He was gone. I took off my shoes and sat on my tan, leather sofa. I thought of my day. I thought of the officer. I thought of Mark.

The next day I woke up in the same clothes I had worn the day before. I didn't remember falling asleep. The groggy feeling didn't last long. I looked at the clock. It was 8:04. I sighed as I turned on the coffee maker and slipped into the shower. After only being in the shower for about fifteen minutes I heard someone shut the front door. I turned off the shower as quietly as I could. I wrapped my towel around me and walked through my bedroom. I cracked open the door just so I could view the front door. "John! Where are you man?! Hurry up and get out of the shower!" A man's voice called from the living room area. I cracked it a little further so I could see the living room area. A man around the age of 26 sat there on my sofa. My heart skipped a beat. I closed my door quietly. My mind raced as I began to panic. Who is this maniac?! I decided that I would grab a weapon and go in there. I went around the back way and grabbed a knife from the kitchen. I walked up behind the couch and asked "Who are you?! What are you doing in here?!" The man scrambled and stood to his feet to face me in shock. He tried to look me in the eyes, even though I'm sure the towel wasn't helping much. He was a tall handsome man. He had deep blue eyes and black, shiny hair. "I am terribly sorry. I thought John lived here. Does...he?" He paused. "I mean is he here? Do you two.."

"Who is John?!" I demanded. "Oh man...oh man...so he doesn't live here?" I could hear the embarrassment in his voice. "No, and why are you still here? Get out!" The man quickly paced to the door. "I'm terribly sorry." He quietly shut the door behind him. John? I thought to myself. I locked the door after him and returned to my shower. When I got out I drank a cup of coffee and left to go grocery shopping. I was getting low on lasagna.

As I closed and locked my door I saw a man coming up the stairs with two over sized boxes. He looked as if he was having trouble and I thought I should help him. "Sir, do you need some help?"

"Yes, please, if you don't mind." I grabbed the one he held out to me and let him lead the way. At first it looked as if he were going to my apartment, but turned to the one next to it. He unlocked the door and held it open for me. I walked in and noticed many other boxes the same size sitting open on the ground. He was moving in. "You can just set it by the door." He called after me as he walked to the kitchen to set his down. I set the box down in a corner close to the door and looked around. He had maps of everywhere posted all over the west wall. The other walls were painted a light green color which brought the place together. The sofa was black and seemed to pull the room together. After I viewed the room I looked at the man. He had blond, curly hair and light blue eyes. He was tan and reminded me much of the guy I had encountered earlier. Yes, he was handsome. He was tan and built like the man who had intruded. He walked back over to me and held out a hand "Hi, my name's John." I smiled. "I'm Hayden...funny, someone broke into my house this morning claiming that someone named John lived there. I live right next door." I pointed to the wall next to me. "I'm assuming he was meaning you?" He rolled his eyes. "I am so sorry. That must have been Chance. Chance is my brother and he said he was going to come over and help me with unpacking. He must have gotten the number wrong. I'm sorry. That's just like my brother." He looked away smiling and rolling his eyes at the same time. "It's ok." I managed. After about what seemed like forever of silence of just viewing each other he spoke. "Would you like some coffee?"

"Oh, no thank you I was just on my way to go grocery shopping." I replied. "Are you sure?" He smiled. "Yes. Thank you." I headed for the door. "Do you want me to help you? I could carry your groceries or something. Since you helped me with the boxes. Or it could be for my brother breaking in your house...?"

"No. It's ok. Really." He smiled. "Ok...if you need anything."

"Ok, thanks." I opened the door and walked out with him holding it open. I turned swiftly around the corner towards the stairs. Note to self: Buy a new lock.

As I entered SuperMarket I went straight to find a new lock. There weren't many to chose from, but still I was having a hard time chosing between the two very best ones(judging from what the back of the box said). "Hey Hayden!" A familiar voice called from my left. Please don't be Madison. Please don't be Madison. I turned to see a pretty brunnette with green eyes warmly smiling at me. "Hey Madison. How are you?" Her smile widened. "I'm good. You?" I looked away. "I'm doing good." Go awaaayyy. "So, Dr. Ledger told me you applied for the job yesterday." Go awaaayyy. "Yeah, Yeah. I did. He's very nice." And beautiful. "Yes, he is." I had to get away from her. I quickly chose the lock in the left hand and threw it into the shopping cart. "Well, I must be on my way." I forced an uneven smile. "Yeah, me too. Daniel and I were just talking about having someone over for dinner. Would you be interested?" Daniel...my ex boyfriend. Two years ago I thought I'd be married to him by now. He never would set a date for the wedding so I ended up breaking up with him. A couple of months later he was dating my best friend Madison Hall. When she told me that she was going to marry Daniel...well I never quite recovered. Of course she was oblivious. They got married a little over a year ago. I had been going out with Daniel twice as long and he wouldn't set a date. I thought I loved him. I haven't dated anyone, since. "No, I have plans for the evening. Thanks."

"Ok, well...if you change your mind..."

"I don't think I will, but thanks."

"Ok, I'll be seeing you."

"Ok."

I grabbed something for dinner and hurried out of there.

After installing my new lock I started on dinner. The thing about living alone is that you make dinner, but you have all of these left overs because it's only you eating it. I sighed at the thought of always having a large majoraty of left overs. AKA never getting married. ring I glanced at the phone. I wonder..."Hello?" A soft familiar voice spoke at the other end."Hayden Svidersky?" My heart stopped."Yes?"

"It's Mark Ledger." I tried to keep my heart rate steady as I talked. "Hey, how may I help you?"

"You could type my book for me. That is of course...if you still want too. I'll pay good." I couldn't help the huge smile beggining to form. "Yes, Yes, I'd love too!"

"Good. So, do you mind starting tomorrow?" There wasn't even half a second of a pause. "Yes!...I mean yes. I will start tomorrow. What time?"

"Is 8:15 too early?"

"No it's perfect. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Alright, goodbye."

"Goodbye." click He picked me? I replayed the interview, the car ride, and every conversation we engaged in my head. Why, though? I couldn't think of anything that stood out as to why he would chose me.

The next day I awoke softly wanting nothing more than to just go back to sleep. Then I remembered I had somewhere to be. I quickly glanced at the clock, praying I hadn't awoken late. I still had an hour, but it was time to get up. I lazily made my way to my bathroom tripping on the carpet here and there. After a long, warm shower I layed out the clothes I would wear and turned on the coffee machine. I sat down at my laptop and logged onto my email. Nothing. Why am I not suprised? I have friends, I just don't have time to make my friendships with them stronger. Hah, imagine that...I have time to check my email, but not time to hang out with my friends. Or maybe I just didn't want to spend time with them. Actually, I do have a lot of time when no one calls for me. It had been about two weeks and I hadn't gotten a job call. My job is to type while the person writing the book tells me what to type. Then I go over it later in my spare time fixing grammatical errors I had mistakenly made earlier. I bring the book back and they publish it. Most writers type their own books so I don't always have a job, but I do get the job done, and quickly. I stood up and made my way to the coffee machine. I made myself a cup of coffee while reconsidering what I had layed out to wear. I walked back to my room and settled on blue jeans, a grey sweater, and black high heels. There was a knock at the door. I walked swiftly to the door peeking threw the eye piece. I opened the door staring suprised. "Hi, John."

"Hey, I hope I didn't wake you."

"No, I've been awake." I glanced at one of my antique clocks hanging on the wall. 7:50, I should be leaving. "Come in." John walked in and stood awkwardly in the hallway. "So, what's up?" His eyes were gorgeous. "I was just wondering if you would like to join me for a cup of tea this afternoon. We could talk. I would have called, but I don't have your number, and I mean...you live right next door. I would have come later, but I have to go out for a bit." There was a pause. I couldn't decide if I wanted too or not. Deep down I think I really wanted it, although my first instinct was to turn down the offer. "I would...enjoy that."

"Ok, it's settled, then. Tonight, my place, 5:00?"

"Sounds good." He shot me a set of straight, white teeth and walked out the door. I closed the door behind him and walked to the phone to call a cab.

The cab showed up at 8:01 exactly. I glided into the backseat while the cab driver spoke in another language. "Umm...I'm sorry...do you know English?" The man turned to glare at me. With a strong Brazzilian accent he replied, "Of cours' I speek Englis'. I'm in Americ' am I no'?" I blushed in embarassment. "I-I'm-"

"Wher' to?" He interrupted. The ride was short. I quickly paid the man and jumped out before he could speek again. I walked in, yet again, filling the room with my cheap perfume. I walked up to the small desk in the center of the room to see the same lady holding, this time, only a day-old magazine. I stood there patiently, knowing what would happen next. "Name?" The lady's tone was the same as it was last time. "Hayden Svidersky." She looked up at me. Her tone changed to a more welcoming greeting. "Hello Mrs. Svidersky come right this way." She got up from her chair and walked towards Mark's office. Knocking only twice she walked in and held the door open for me.

As I walked in looking around for Mark the lady behind me quietly shut the door. In the darkest corner I saw Mark, looking more beautiful than ever, standing. "Goodmorning Mrs. Svidersky." I lost my train of thought to his velvet voice. I looked away from his entrancing gaze and recollected my thoughts. "Goodmorning. Please, call me Hayden." He moved forward not once leaving my gaze. "Hayden." He purred. "Take a seat." He turned to motion at a small wooden table with an ancient, but antique type writer. I sat in the sturdy chair while observing the typewriter. It was still in good shape. Better shape than a typwriter this old should be. He sat down in front of his lit fireplace as I heard rain begin to dance on the building. I looked out the window and for the first time noticed how dark it was in the room. The clouds outside were thick. Thick enough to hide the sun and make the city seem darker than it would be at this hour in the morning. It was also beginning to rain. There was something about the rain that gave me chills up my spine for a split second. "Are you cold?" I stared at him. "No, I'm fine." I lied. It was quite cold. He looked at me. "Shall we begin?" I noded.

He stared off into the fireplace as he talked. "It all started on September 1st 1939. I was living with my father in Poland. We had moved there from Austria two months earlier. We moved to recover from my mother leaving us. I was only ten when Germany invaded Poland that day. I remember sirens going off and hearing loud gunshots coming from outside. My father was grabbing clothes from the drawers and stuffing them into two small bags with tears rolling down his face. Of course I had no clue what was going on. Then there was a knock at the door. I turned to go towards it, but as I did it fell on the floor with a loud thud. I looked up in horror to see him. The man I hated from the moment I saw him. His name was General Henrich Vanheiser. He walked towards me with a slight smile on his face. He looked at two other soldiers behind him and talked loudly. "Kill the father. Bring the boy." In the background I could hear my father crying and then with a frightened voice he said, "Don't you dare touch my so-"Two loud booms cracked and I turned towards my father in horror. I ran towards my father with tears blinding me. I curled up in my father's arms repeating his name over and over again, not wanting to accept this nightmare. "Grab the boy and put him in 7." The General then left the room. Two men grabbed my arms lifting me up from my father. I screamed and kicked trying to grab hold of my father. I bit the larger man's arm and he released me with a yell. The other man then released me as well staring at the other's arm. I looked down at my clothes and saw that half of my shoulder was covered in blood. I looked up at both of the soldiers in panic. They looked at me in shock. The yelled in a different language at eachother. I managed to catch 'If you won't kill 'em, I will!'. The man who had spoken it walked towards me slowly as if to enjoy every minute of how he was planning to kill me. I took off heading towards the basement. I ran as fast as I could. I could hear the men behind me pounding on the ground with their footsteps. I didn't dare look back. I opened the door to the basement and ran down the stairs. When I got to the bottom I tripped and looked behind me. They weren't in sight, but I could hear their yells and footsteps. I tried to calm my breathing while thinking of a way to escape. The footsteps neared and began to slow down. I guess they knew I had no where to go. As that thought trembled within me I looked around the dark room searching for light. In the back of the basement I saw a small hole. I ran across the basement listening to my heart beat pound. I grabbed the hole with both hands and plied off a piece of wood. The piece was big enough for me to fit through the rectangular square it had left in the wall. I looked back and saw the two men racing down the stairs. I crawled through the tiny space pulling myself through. I dug my nails as far as they would go in the ground. I heard the two men yelling behind me as I made it through. I took off at a run. My house was the farthest house from the city and near the woods. Before I ran into the woods I turned back to look at the city that I had gotten to know over the past two months. I could hear screams of women and children. I heard gun shots all over. I turned slowly knowing that the two men would come after me and continued running. I ran for hours, stopping to catch a brief breath every now and then. The forest became dark and the trees began to sway high above me. I stopped to rest knowing the soldiers had to be atleast a mile behind me. I sat on the ground hugging my knees. I was in complete shock as I sat there. Then the image of my father's body sitting lifelessly on the ground made me cry harder than I had ever cried before. He was all I had. My best friend. My only friend. I dropped my head on my knees. I sat like that all night. I woke up around 4 in panic the next morning to a loud crack. All I could think of was that someone had found me. I stood still looking in every direction. I heard another gunshot and it made me jump. I still didn't hear any voices. I took off running in the direction I was headed the night before. I looked behind me and as I did I ran into something very hard. I fell over backwards and looked up. A tall man with blond hair and blue eyes stood motionless staring at me. "Hi." His voice was friendly. He didn't look German. He wasn't wearing a German army suit. Yet, still I felt frightened. Perhaps it was the fact that he had a rifle in his hand. "Please don't kill me!" I screamed. I tried to sound tuff. My face tried to stay emotionless, but soon enough traitor tears were rolling down my face. He looked at me concerned. "I'm not going to kill you...come with me." I had no intentions of going with him, but my body got up and walked towards him. He turned facing north and started off. After thirty minutes of silence I spoke. "Where are you taking me?" My voice sounded more frightened than I really was. He didn't answer. I began to wonder if he'd heard me. We walked for hours. I thought of running away, but I never did. Before I knew it, the sun began to fall. It was completely pitch black when in the distance I saw a small cabin with lights on. Somehow I just knew that was where we were headed. "Welcome to my home." He announced as we neared it.

"The cabin was small, but big enough for one person. He walked in and put water in a teapot to boil on the stove. "Take a seat." He said pointing to a table with one chair at both two ends of it. I sat down at the furthest one away from him. "Don't be scared." He was a rather large man and his beard was dark brown like the color of his long hair. I studied him over and decided to trust him. "Where yeh headed?" He asked. His big voice crowded the the small room. "Away." Was all I managed. "Why?" The look in his face told me he was planning on interrogating me until the truth emerged. I decided to make it as trite as possible and try not to bring the painful images to mind. Tears flooded my eyes at the attempt not to cry. "They killed my father! They tried to kidnap me! They're looking for me!" I wailed. His face looked concerned, but still he remained in his place standing by the stove looking in my direction. " It's ok here with me. They'll never find you..." He looked at me to see if these words were comforting me. I guess he didn't think they were because he continued. "We are way out in the middle of the woods...there's no way..." ring The man walked over to the phone and answered it. "Hello?" He paused and looked in my direction. He quickly looked away trying not to frighten me, but it was too late. I knew that it was them. "No...NO...I told you tomorrow morning." Everything else was a blur. I passed out only to awake to a nightmare." Mark looked over in my direction. "I believe this is a good stopping point. It is 2:30." He sat in his chair smiling at me. "Oh, right...umm, tomorrow morning same time?"

"Yes, of course." Another dazzling smile. "Ok..." I quietly grabbed the papers and shut the door behind me as soft as I could. My mind raced. He did say it was on fiction, I reminded myself. I tried not to think about it. The story had me so interested...it had to be true. He speaks as if this...this story is actually his story. I tried to forget about it as I walked out of the building and whistled for a cab.

I was happy to see that the man driving was not the same one as the one who drove me this morning. The ride was shorter than ever. Perhaps, my thoughts had occupied my mind enough for me not to think about the ride. I walked in my apartment throwing my keys on the counter and retiring to the sofa. I sat there thinking. Wondering. Untill...

knock knock I awoke, sitting straight up. I glared towards the door while I tied my hair into a ponytail. I walked swiftly to the door while looking at the clock to my right. I opened the door in a hurry as I remembered. "I completely forgot. I'm so sorry." There stood John smiling in a forgiving way. "It's fine. We can have tea another day?"

"No, now's great." I lied. I wanted nothing more than to just go back to the couch and sleep the rest of the day. "Are you sure?" He politely asked. "Positive." I lied again. "Ok...right this way." He held out a hand facing in the direction of his apartment. I walked out the door not thinking about locking it. I entered his apartment in complete amazement. The apartment looked exactly like mine, same layout and everything, but the walls were covered in maps. The floor was covered in white carpet and there were two large sofas in the living room. The room looked as if it had been done by designers. I looked around for boxes, but failed to spot one. "Wow, you clean up nice." I smiled. He smiled back. "Thank you." He poured tea into two small tea cups with a teapot that was sitting on the stove. My mind drifted to Mark. I caught myself and looked back at John setting a cup in front of me and placing the other in front of himself. He sat down and took a sip. "So..." He paused to take another sip. I took a sip of mine and he looked up at me. "So, what do you do for a living?" I looked at him setting my cup down, folding my hands in a comfortable position around the cup. "I type." I smiled. A curious playful smile spread across his face. "And what is it, exactly you type?" I looked at the table as I spoke, glancing up every now and then to see if he was listening. "I type what people tell me to type. Mainly books...sometimes, recipes...such as in cookbooks...ummm, I type mainly non fiction, it's very rare that someone will ask me to type fiction." I looked up. "So what do you do for a living?" He looked away quickly then caught my gaze again. He smiled awkwardly and somehow I should have said 'You don't have to tell me,' but this made me even more curious. "I am on vacation for two years, at the moment...I don't really want to think about work." He laughed, but the laugh was almost frightened...as if he wasn't expecting me to ask. He brought up the subject, he should have thought about it. I let it go. "Where did you live?...Since you are on break this isn't your perminant home. You plan to leave after the two years are up. Correct?"

"Yes, I am planning to leave and go back to work after the years of vacation are up. I live in California. I messed up on something at work and my boss sent me to the place he thought would be best to recollect my thoughts...to renew myself, so by the time I come back I'll be up and ready." He looked at me wondering if he had revealed too much.


End file.
